Rise From Eight Hundred

 April 24, 1940!

As the Second War Zone briefing announced the successful conclusion of the Battle of Zishan in Southern Hebei, the battle of mopping up and counter-mopping up, in which China and Japan actually invested more than 100,000 troops on the plains in Southern Hebei, officially ended.

However, both China's Second Theater District, as the victor, and the Japanese North China Front, as the loser, did not elaborate on the losses of both sides in this war, which would be named the "First Battle of Handan" in the future.

The Japanese North China Front Army is easy to understand. After all, as a disgraced party, it is normal to cover up their losses. However, a stingy old man who likes to show off his merits unexpectedly said, "We won", which is really hard to find. understand.

Perhaps only those who know the inside story understand that this is a disguised suppression of Tang Dao by the stingy old man. Even the battle reports submitted to the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs for meritorious service, the second theater is always under the jurisdiction of the Jinan Office and the 921st Division of the Eighty Group Army. To address him, he didn’t even mention the word Si Xing Tuan.

"Yo Xi! The commander of China's Second Theater must have a grudge against the Four Lines Group and Tang Dao. This is something that the front army can take advantage of. Let the front army's intelligence department spend more effort on this aspect. The more detailed the better. , This will have an immeasurable effect on the front army against the stubborn enemy of the Fourth Army." Okamura Koji, who was newly appointed as the commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, was actually keen to discover important information from this seemingly unimportant intelligence.

"Kasahara-kun, this is one of the reasons why China cannot compete with the empire. Their internal strife is too serious, even under such heavy pressure from the empire. This was one of the reasons why I urged the Kwantung Army to use troops against the three northeastern provinces." Facing Major General Yukio Kasahara, Chief of Staff of the Front Army, Okamura Koji's sinister face suddenly showed warmth.

This may be the best news that Okamura Koji has received since he took office. Tang Dao led a small infantry regiment and already embarrassed a front army. What if he was promoted to brigade commander or division commander?

The reason why Okamura Koji was wary of Tang Dao the most and raised his plan to deal with the Four Troops to almost the same level as the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line when he first took office was a lesson learned from the previous three commanders who resigned sadly.

If the resignation of General Indoor Shroud is not closely related to Tang Dao, then the sad resignation of Shan Shanyuan and Duo Tianjun is inevitably related to the rise of Tang Dao and the Four Elements Group.

Okamura Koji naturally wanted to accept the lessons of the previous three. As soon as he arrived in North China, he immediately ordered the Intelligence Section to pass all the information about the Four Elements Group and Tang Dao personally through him. No, let him start from the second There was an unusual clue found in the battle report reported from the war zone!

Okamura Koji, who prides himself on being knowledgeable and talented, must have never dabbled in philosophy. The famous Germanic philosopher Hegel once said: The only lesson that mankind has learned from history is that mankind has not learned any lessons from history.

But, Okamura Koji, who has a very deep city, will show off to his chief of staff because of his little discovery?

 Obviously, this is not consistent with the persona of this person who is known as the "most sinister commander of the North China Front".

If it were anyone else, facing the show-off from their immediate boss, they would basically just send a rainbow fart, showing their loyalty first.

However, Major General Yukio Kasahara, who was the Chief of Staff of the North China Front at the time, was no simple figure. As a descendant of the shogunate family, he was at Army University at the same time as Ishihara Kanji, and because of his excellent academic performance, he became a member of the same class as Ishihara Kanji and others. Members of the "Saber Team" were awarded sabers by Emperor Taisho, and served as the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army and the commander of the 11th Army in the past time and space.

To put it bluntly, Kasahara Yukio is the kind of person who has someone behind him and works hard. Such a person will naturally have his own countermeasures when faced with the somewhat tentative boasting of his superiors.

"The wisdom of Your Excellency, Commander. As early as when I was serving in the Guards Division, I heard the division commander mention it from time to time and always regarded Your Excellency the Commander as a role model. When Your Excellency the Commander takes office this time, I have an insight into the internal strife among the Chinese people." Inside information, I am very impressed by my subordinates. The return of the front army to its former glory is just around the corner!" Yukio Kasahara gave him a gentle flattery that was both respectful and neither condescending nor arrogant.

Okamura Koji's face was even warmer, but there was a hint of gloom in his eyes.

If he hadn't been reminded by his chief of staff, he would have almost forgotten that when this man, who would definitely be promoted to lieutenant general of the army in the near future, was serving as the commander of the Guards Division, the commander of the Guards Division was now General Asaka Miya. King Jiuyan.

The subtext of this person is also a gentle reminder: I will fully cooperate with the Commander, but don't treat me like a soft persimmon. The great **** behind me is His Highness the Prince.

Just now he was proud of the internal fighting among the Chinese, but the commander of the Shinko Japanese North China Front discovered that the guys under his command were not good birds. He wanted to use the momentum of "taking orders at the last moment" to subjugate them, and it would not take him a few days. My son, my head hurts slightly.

Compared with the excitement of Japan's North China Front Army's undercurrent of power transition and the excitement of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between tigers, the top brass of the Chinese mountain city are calm, as if they have not seen the internal fighting in the second theater that is almost announced on paper. .

Even the promotion order was based on the wishes of a certain commander in the second theater.

The commander of the 683 Journey Brigade was promoted from major general to lieutenant general, and several deputy brigade-level cadres of the 683 Brigade were promoted from army colonels to major generals. However, the military expenditures for the three infantry divisions of the 80th Group Army were not released.

After receiving the promotion order, Brigadier Cheng threw it into a ball with disdain and threw it into the boiling water stove: "Since the beginning of winter last year, the military salary has not been paid until now. What kind of major general and lieutenant general? I don't care about his bad check." !”

Since November last year, the entire 80th Group Army has not received a penny of military expenditure. Everyone in the 80th Group Army has already felt the vigilance and dissatisfaction of Shancheng. The 80th Group Army is willing to use the 683 brigade to show off its muscles in this Zishan battle. In fact, I also want to show that person that it is okay not to pay military expenditures, but don't play with fire. The 80th Army has the courage and strength to face all major enemies.

 In this context, no matter how high the position given by the Ministry of Military Affairs is, it is nothing more than a blank check, as Brigadier Cheng said.

In the Jinan Administrative Office, those who are promoted to the rank of prince and lieutenant general, to put it bluntly, the military rank is still the army major general but they receive the salary of a lieutenant general. The deputy director Tang Dao receives the rank of major general, the military salary is more, but the military rank remains unchanged.

As for the Si Xing Regiment, which was the main force in the Battle of Zishan, there was almost no mention in the promotion order. All officers above the captain level were given a one-level increase in military pay.

 There is no mention of medals or the like at all.

"The **** war zone headquarters and the military and administrative department, I killed so many Japanese in this battle, and more than a thousand of the brothers in the regiment died in the battle. How do you think these **** didn't see it?" Lei Xiong had a hot temper, and returned in front of Tang Dao, who was stationed there, almost broke the wooden coffee table with his slap.

Tang Dao, who was lazily lying on the lounge chair and basking in the sun, smiled slightly and handed over a cup of tea: "Brother, calm down, what did I think it was! It's just a small reward! No money, pension and reward for us The regiment distributes the medals by itself, why don’t we do it ourselves?”

"This is not a matter of money. The brothers in our regiment died for the country. Why can these **** turn a blind eye to this? Aren't they afraid that the soldiers will be disappointed?" Lei Xiong's face became even more angry.

"Brother, as you just said, the brothers of our regiment sacrificed their lives for the country, for the country and the people, so why do we need to be recognized by those people? They say history is written by the victors, so I can tell you very clearly, brother, Even if they drive away the little devil one day, they don't deserve to be called winners." Tang Dao stood up, looked towards the distant mountains, and said with an indifferent expression.

“Only we, the Chinese people, have that qualification!”

"The future will be the future, but now, I still have a sigh of relief in my heart." Lei Xiong sat down depressedly.

"Haha! Brother, didn't you see anything from the abnormal behavior of these big shots?" Tang Dao smiled and handed over a cigarette.

"Looking at something, I think they are just a nest of snakes and rats. There is no such thing as a good bird. If we go back to ancient times, I will take a hundred thousand cavalry to the capital to ask the emperor for an explanation!" Lei Xiong took the cigarette and still said Angry at the unfair treatment of the whole group.

"Haha, I didn't expect that your brother would have so many rebellions, and you would kill a hundred thousand cavalry. Fortunately, you are not a border general, otherwise the big shots in the Military and Political Department would not be scared to death by you!" Tang Dao I couldn't help but laugh.

 “Hey! Isn’t that how things are done on stage?” Lei Xiong’s old face turned red when Tang Dao laughed.

With his military rank, he would have been a captain in ancient times. Not to mention him as the deputy commander, even Tang Dao could only command tens of thousands of people.

"Okay, brother, don't be angry. It's not that we really offended anyone this time, nor that the big shots are really short-sighted. It's purely a matter of political balance." Tang Dao sighed.

"What do you say?" Lei Xiong lit his cigarette and looked at Tang Dao.

For Tang Dao, a young man who was several years younger than him, the reason why Lei Xiong chose to follow Tang Dao was because he was impressed by his fighting spirit at first. Later, he gradually discovered that Tang Dao's tactics and strategic vision were all important. These were the only ones he had ever seen in his life, and his ability to cooperate vertically and horizontally with all the friendly forces was even more astonishing. However, any troops that Tang Dao regards as friendly forces have never lost their chain on the battlefield, which is why the Four Lines Regiment has the reputation of being invincible.

Lei Xiong is the second-ranking figure in the Four Elements Regiment, so his own family knows his own affairs. No matter how elite the Four Elements Regiment is, it is limited to only a few thousand people, and the Japanese are just talking about the division. Haunted, if there were no friendly forces fighting side by side, the Four Lines Regiment would have been destroyed countless times.

Unexpectedly, Tang Dao is not only awesome on the battlefield, but he can even figure out the thoughts of those untouchable big shots, which is even more incredible.

“Think about it! If the victory of the Battle of Zishan is placed on my Si Xing Regiment, what should I, the commander of the regiment, do?”

"Promotion! With your military exploits, you should have been promoted to major general and commander of a brigade at least a year ago!" Lei Xiong said matter-of-factly.

"Yes! Promoting to major general and brigade commander is easy to say, but difficult to do! Let me ask you, now that I am a brigade commander, will the four-line regiment I built have to be expanded into an infantry brigade?"

"What's the problem? Our Four-Hong Group is a special group, we just need to change the name."

"Hey, if you and the commander of the second theater have no dealings with each other at all, and were even life-and-death enemies before, they will never become friends in the future. Do you want to add another infantry division to his command that can be expanded to an infantry division at any time? A strong team?”

"Then I'm not crazy, unless I can find a way to transfer it away and expand the department." Lei Xiong shook his head like a rattle.

"So! As long as I, Tang Daocheng, become the brigade commander, then our Four Elements Regiment will no longer be in North China! Do you think that the commander was really confused by my telegram? He was just using the topic as an excuse, and he was fair and square. They suppressed my military exploits and kept us on the battlefield in North China. To put it bluntly, no matter how disobedient the mastiffs raised by the herdsmen were, they would not lose a single bone as long as they could drive away the wolves. Less.

 Faced with the pressure of the war in the south, he was absolutely unwilling to have problems with the northern defense line, and could only use practical actions to appease the commander. The Fourth Army Regiment would not move for the time being.

 That’s why you see that from the theater headquarters to the military and administrative department, everyone is acting like they are blind, pretending not to see the merits of my Four Elements Regiment. "

"Wo Ri, for their benefit, our brothers died in vain in the end, without even a single expression! These are sons of **** playing politics." Lei Xiong suddenly realized, but became even more angry.

 The big shots sacrificed the interests of all the officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment for their own interests. It was as simple as drinking boiled water. Who would not be angry?

"Haha, don't worry. Since the commander still wants my Four Elements Group to do work for him, he doesn't have to admit his contribution on the surface, but if he doesn't even show any signs of it in private, then it will be in vain. He has been the king of Jin Province for many years.

How can there be a good thing in this world where you want the horse to run but also want the horse not to eat grass? Tang Dao sneered.

  . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The heavily guarded official residence of the Commander of the Second Theater Command!

"How can that boy from Tang Dao be so calm? It's been two days since the Military and Political Ministry's Jin Provincial Order was issued, but I still don't see that boy sending me a telegram to complain. Even if he pretends to report to me and find out what I'm really doing, that's fine. ! You can't let me send the telegram myself!" The stingy old man rubbed his scalp and paced back and forth in the courtyard a little depressed.

"Brother, don't you know about Captain Tang's bad temper? In order to keep him, you forced him to achieve great achievements of the entire regiment. He didn't hurry up and used the relationship between Tantai reporters to report the Zishan Battle. It's already a great honor. If you still expect him to call in person, then he is not the tough guy who can face tens of thousands of Japanese troops without changing his expression." Seeing the stingy old man's tangled look, the middle-aged woman pursed her lips and smiled. Be blunt.

"Even if the old man and I did something unreasonable for the sake of the North China War, is it true that he resisted the order before the war? After the war, is it rude to send me a message with only a few words to report the victory? Old man, I After all, he is the commander of the theater. He, the commander of the regiment directly under the theater, doesn't take my immediate boss seriously!" The stingy old man frowned and tried to make amends for himself.

Seeing that her eldest brother had started to act like he was getting angry out of shame, the middle-aged woman who was familiar with his temperament smiled and said nothing and stopped trying to comfort him.

Some people can't be persuaded, but the more they persuade, the more energetic they become. Stingy old men fall into this category.

But the middle-aged woman also knows that it is one thing for her brother to be narrow-minded, but how can a man who can become a local tycoon do stupid things like breaking his wings just because he is unhappy? His ability to self-regulate his emotions exceeds 99% of people.

　　"Look, the adults don't remember the villain's faults. Who allows this kid to fight the Japanese!" Seeing that his sister didn't give him a step, the stingy old man could only stomp his feet and give her a step.

"Order the munitions department to prepare 10,000 taels of gold, 150,000 foreign currency, 500,000 rounds of bullets of various types, 20,000 artillery shells, 3,000 rifles, and 100 light machine guns. Forget about the guns, the Four Lines Regiment is probably not interested now. These old men, these rags.

In addition, use the large seal of the headquarters to open 20 blank routes for the Si Xing Group to prevent the business groups in southeastern Shanxi from coming to invite people to eat and drink as soon as they have free time. This is wartime. How can a soldier waste his time on cups and chopsticks? On top of interlacing. "The stingy old man gave his conditions with a pained look on his face.

 “This” middle-aged woman looked surprised.

 “Get someone to send it to the Si Xing Group!” The stingy old man stamped his foot, turned around and walked into the small study angrily.

This is all his money. He doesn't know how many years and months it will take to save it before he can get it back. The stingy old man may be too distressed to sleep tonight.

However, he obviously misunderstood what his cousin meant. Before the middle-aged woman could finish saying "so many", the stingy old man took the initiative to lower his status and sent four baggage companies to deliver these rewards to the Four Lines Group a hundred miles away.

This low-profile attitude made Deputy Lei Tuan, who was still scolding him as a son of a bitch, embarrassed to scold him again.

 The total reward is more than 500,000 yuan, evenly distributed among the entire army of the Four Lines Regiment, which now has over 10,000 troops. Each person can also receive 50 yuan.

Although the Four Troops are not short of money now, no one would mind having too much money, right?

 500,000 rounds of bullets of various calibers and those guns are not used by the Four Rows, but they can be used as gifts! Moreover, militiamen from various parts of southern Hebei also need live ammunition training, which can just make up for the shortage of ammunition storage in military factories.

Moreover, the road marked with the seal of the war zone headquarters is also a big favor. In order to pass through the war zone smoothly, the major business groups in Dakouzidong town showed their magical powers. Boss Qian even gave money to the stingy old man. Where did the personal secretary Wu Meizi go? Although the important personnel of the theater headquarters made some concessions for Tang Tuanzuo's sake, the money was not wasted.

These 20 road notes, if converted into money, are worth ten thousand oceans and reduce a lot of troubles. However, the meaning behind them is that they reduce many shackles on the development of trade groups. They are also a warning to those who want to take cards. We, the business group who followed Tang Dao, I cover you old man.

It's true that a smart man doesn't have hair on his head. The stingy old man used all the tricks to make up for Tang Dao and Si Xing Tuan, overtly and covertly.

"Our regiment suffered heavy losses due to the Battle of Zishan. In addition to leaving one unit stationed at Zishan to protect the Jinan Office, the main force returned to the station to rest and recuperate. I hope Commander Yan will approve!" Tang Dao wrote to the theater headquarters in the afternoon after receiving the condolence gift. Outgoing calls.

 “Exactly!” The stingy old man called back with a smile.

The undercurrent caused by the suppression of military exploits between the commander of the Second Theater Zone and his top general has subsided. Unfortunately, Japan's North China Intelligence Division is still working hard to collect intelligence, hoping to find some loopholes in it.

They only have a brief understanding of Chinese culture, but under the Chinese people's various brain-teasers, their efforts are destined to be in vain! (End of chapter)